Theo Gentil

Theo Gentil (23 October 1781-21 January 1813) was a Colonel of France during the Napoleonic Wars. He died leading a brave bayonet charge at the Battle of Swiecie.

Biography
Theo Gentil was born in Reims, Picardy in northern France in 1781. In 1797 he was levied into the French army and fought on the Rhine frontier with Austria during the French Revolutionary Wars. Gentil rose in rank during the Napoleonic Wars, and by 1813 he was promoted to Colonel of a regiment of Fusiliers of Line.

Death
Theo Gentil commanded a Fusiliers of Line regiment on the French right flank during the Battle of Swiecie in the War of the Sixth Coalition in January 1813. Gentil's regiment suffered heavy losses from gunfire, and when Prussian troops moved dangerously close, Gentil led a bayonet charge downhill. He was shot and fell forwards, dead, but his men charged on and routed the Prussian regiment.